Goldfish about to explode!
- Thread starter scubadude
- Start date
Dropsy isn't a disease as such, it's a sign of internal organ failure, so it's a symptom. It can be caused by a bacterial infection. If you're worried, you can treat the whole tank. It's probably not a good idea to use anything from this tank as a feeder until you're sure they're all healthy.
A lot of people prefer to raise their own feeders (guppies or whatever) to prevent any possible sickness from store-bought feeders.
A lot of people prefer to raise their own feeders (guppies or whatever) to prevent any possible sickness from store-bought feeders.
Directions for treating dropsy:
Step 1: Remove fish from tank gently with net.
Step 2: Place fish in bowl of dechlorinated water cooled to 32*F
Step 3: Wait 2 minutes, then flush
I have never successfully treated a fish with dropsy. They always die.
However, since this is a goldfish (AKA: COLD-water), you may have a faster euthanization process if you drop it in boiling hot water, although it would be a tad more painful...
Step 1: Remove fish from tank gently with net.
Step 2: Place fish in bowl of dechlorinated water cooled to 32*F
Step 3: Wait 2 minutes, then flush
I have never successfully treated a fish with dropsy. They always die.
However, since this is a goldfish (AKA: COLD-water), you may have a faster euthanization process if you drop it in boiling hot water, although it would be a tad more painful...
Sounds like dropsy. This is usually more a sign of organ failure, as was suggested, specifically kidney failure. It not usually contagious, although the cause may be. I read a post about some more humane way to euthanize fish. I have a fish disease book. I'll look up treatments. Fish can die by themselves very quickly with full blown dropsy.
About euthanasia. If your going to freeze anyway, try sedating with clove oil first. I think you can order it at pharmacies or buy it at health food stores. It is not very soluble in water, so you have to dissolve a few drops in a small volume of hot water, and then mix it into the quarentine tank, or wherever. I also once read the active ingredient in ambesol is a fish poison, but I'm not sure you should try this, although it can't be much worse than boiling to death (ouch!!). Also Petco uses some product called FinQuel, I think, for aquatic euthanasia.
About euthanasia. If your going to freeze anyway, try sedating with clove oil first. I think you can order it at pharmacies or buy it at health food stores. It is not very soluble in water, so you have to dissolve a few drops in a small volume of hot water, and then mix it into the quarentine tank, or wherever. I also once read the active ingredient in ambesol is a fish poison, but I'm not sure you should try this, although it can't be much worse than boiling to death (ouch!!). Also Petco uses some product called FinQuel, I think, for aquatic euthanasia.
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Putting fish in the freezer:
"The idea behind this is that the fish goes into a dormancy mode as the temperature decreases. The fish falls asleep and never wakes up.
The method is you place the fish in a coverall container of tank water at the normal temperature - this is then covered to simulate dark and placed in the freezer"
Using extremely cold water:
"The fish is then captured and dropped into the freezing water. The difference between the temperature of the tank and the freezing water causes an instant fatal shock to the fish nervous system stopping all organ functions instantaneously - anyone who has found themselves suddenly in water that is much colder than your body temperature will know the feeling when you initially can't breathe (people have died of heart failure under similar circumstances), it is like that but much more severe and sudden"
Info taken from http://homepage.ntlworld.com/faustus/nicoldaquaria/euthanasia.htm
"The idea behind this is that the fish goes into a dormancy mode as the temperature decreases. The fish falls asleep and never wakes up.
The method is you place the fish in a coverall container of tank water at the normal temperature - this is then covered to simulate dark and placed in the freezer"
Using extremely cold water:
"The fish is then captured and dropped into the freezing water. The difference between the temperature of the tank and the freezing water causes an instant fatal shock to the fish nervous system stopping all organ functions instantaneously - anyone who has found themselves suddenly in water that is much colder than your body temperature will know the feeling when you initially can't breathe (people have died of heart failure under similar circumstances), it is like that but much more severe and sudden"
Info taken from http://homepage.ntlworld.com/faustus/nicoldaquaria/euthanasia.htm
With goldfish, you have to be careful of the coldwater method -- they can handle much colder water than tropicals and many varieties can overwinter in frozen ponds. Putting them in the freezer is going to take forever to kill them and you still might mess it up. The other method MO cites: Hitting colder water might discombobulate them but it isn't likely to have the effect it has on trops.
With cold/cool water fish, imo the two best methods include: the clove oil followed by decapitation method or put the fish into a plastic bag and whack it very hard against a solid object. (a fish bag works well for this, you put them in the bottom corner and twist the bag up behind them so there's no air to cushion the blow so it's done quickly)
When your options are: to watch your fish die a lingering death, running the risk also of infecting the rest of your tank's inhabitants or letting it out of its misery, I'll opt for Door #2.
With cold/cool water fish, imo the two best methods include: the clove oil followed by decapitation method or put the fish into a plastic bag and whack it very hard against a solid object. (a fish bag works well for this, you put them in the bottom corner and twist the bag up behind them so there's no air to cushion the blow so it's done quickly)
When your options are: to watch your fish die a lingering death, running the risk also of infecting the rest of your tank's inhabitants or letting it out of its misery, I'll opt for Door #2.
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I never knew there was such lenths to euthenize a fish!
Now slamming it against the wall is a tad harsh for me If it was just as listless as ever and gulping for air I would just take it out and flush, why watch it suffer.
Also an other way to kill off fish (as I found out through my 3 yr old) bar hand soap works well it takes a few days but yeah they will die. I had 9 feeders in my pond out side and he gave the fish "a bath" and 4 out of the 9 died in about a day.
But anyways I rather just flush IMHO in stead of cutting off a head or slamming them.
Now slamming it against the wall is a tad harsh for me If it was just as listless as ever and gulping for air I would just take it out and flush, why watch it suffer.
Also an other way to kill off fish (as I found out through my 3 yr old) bar hand soap works well it takes a few days but yeah they will die. I had 9 feeders in my pond out side and he gave the fish "a bath" and 4 out of the 9 died in about a day.
But anyways I rather just flush IMHO in stead of cutting off a head or slamming them.
Slamming them kills them instantly -- flushing them sends them to a lingering death in a toxic pool of human waste. Immediate death due to head/body trauma or living in drano, urine and feces until death -- you decide. Given the choice, I'd prefer being slammed. Flushing is easier on you, but much harder on them. 